The Secret Heir (Alinthia Series Book 2)
Page 28
This time, I think he may have bitten off more than he can chew.
There are too many angles being played here, and we’re being outmaneuvered. I know that pisses Dane off more than he’d ever admit.
I honestly thought Coop was going to punch his lights out in the parking lot this evening. He was listening out for Alinthia when she left to go to the bathroom midway through class, so he heard everything, the same way she did. He’s never supported plans to keep Alinthia in the dark, even if it did seem to make sense when Dane first suggested it. None of us trust Alandra, and we know she’s lying, but Dane wanted to use her attraction to him to our advantage, so he played his role to perfection, and no one can deny the part Alinthia has unwittingly played in this charade. Every death glare she sent Alandra when she was flirting with Dane only served to prove his legitimacy.
I know that.
We know that.
But none of us wanted to see Alinthia hurt over it.
“Just be honest with her, bruh. Tell her everything tonight, and let’s clear the decks once and for all.”
“I’m with Maddox,” Beck agrees. “Come clean, and then we all agree that we’re not keeping stuff from one another anymore.”
“I know that’s the way forward, but what if she can’t get past this? I wouldn’t blame her. I gave her shit for concealing her vision, when I’m no better.”
“You were trying to protect her.”
He slams his fist down on the table. “That doesn’t fucking matter now! She was doing the same thing, and I still tore shreds off her. I’m a fucking hypocrite.” His chair screeches as he abruptly stands up. He grabs the back of his neck. “I … I made the wrong call. I know it. I sense it.”
And now we get to the root of the matter.
“I’m going to talk to her now. I can’t stand this any longer.” The tormented look on his face attests to the depths of his feelings for her. He can spout that deflective bullshit till the cows come home, but he loves her as much as we do.
Maybe more.
Dane’s an intense guy, and Alinthia isn’t going to know what’s hit her when he unleashes the full force of that intensity on her.
“Fuckkkkk!!!” Dane’s roar startles me. He starts hammering his fist on the table. Beck and I exchange worried looks. The look of fear on Dane’s face is unlike any I’ve ever seen before. “We’ve got a problem. I can’t see Alinthia or Coop, and he’s not responding when I reach out to him.”
I try to connect to Coop, and I’m hit by a blank wall. Either he’s still pissed and blocking us, or something’s happened. I stand up. “Let’s go.”
We teleport to the lane just outside Kylie’s house and run up the gravel driveway. Some guy is standing in front of the open door, pacing back and forth on the porch, doing a great impersonation of Dane. He bristles when he senses our approach, swinging around and narrowing his gaze.
“What the hell happened here?” Dane asks, bending down to examine the busted front door.
“I’d like the answer to that question too,” he says.
“You’re Daniel?” Dane presumes, and the guy nods.
“I know who you are, and who you’ve come for, but Tori’s not here. Neither is my sister, and I’m freaking out.”
“Our brother was here too,” Beck adds.
“Well, there’s no one inside now,” Daniel confirms, grabbing fistfuls of his hair.
Dane goes deathly still, and I know he’s stretching his mind, searching for them.
“Where were you?” I ask Daniel, attempting to distract him while Dane does his thing.
“Out with friends, but I was here when they arrived home from school. I didn’t see your brother.”
“We need to go.” A muscle ticks in Dane’s jaw. “I’ve spotted both of them, but it’s not good news. Tori and Kylie were taken by government operatives, and Cooper is unconscious in the back of a different van. Neither are going in the same direction, so I’m not convinced he’s been taken by the same crew.”
“Shit. I had a feeling that guy I was tailing yesterday after school was a cop or FBI or something.”
“We need to get back to the house and make a plan. Evac now.” Dane takes the steps two at a time, not even acknowledging Kylie’s brother.
“Nice talking to you, Daniel,” I say, turning around and bounding down the steps with Beck hot on my heels.
“Wait!” Daniel runs after us. “What don’t I know?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Dane says curtly. “Tori and Coop aren’t here, so we’re going elsewhere to look for them.”
“I’ll come with.”
“No, you’ll stay here,” Dane demands, glaring at the poor guy. “In case they come back. Give me your cell. I’ll input my number so you can call me if they show up.”
They swap numbers and then we hightail it out of there.
Back at the house, we load up on weapons and supplies. Beck and I are waiting on Dane to make a decision, so we work silently and efficiently while he resumes pacing. This time I don’t tease him. “Okay. I don’t think we should split up because we need to stick together,” he says, and we both nod. He massages his temples. “We go after Cooper.” My chest tightens. “He’ll be easier to get, and we’ll need him to rescue the girls, along with a kickass plan, because there’s no way we can expect to get in and out of a government facility without knowing exactly what we face and being prepared for all eventualities.”
I share his pained expression, because we all know it takes time to plan shit like that. And who the fuck knows what the government will be doing to our girl while we’re planning her rescue. “Fuck this shit.”
“I know this sucks, but we’ll get her back as soon as we can. Right now, our brother needs us. He still hasn’t regained consciousness, but the van has turned off the main road, and I’ve a good idea where they are going. Let’s head out.”
We teleport to an abandoned warehouse fifty miles away. A battered green truck is parked inside, the cargo doors wide-open. There’s no sign of any of the occupants, but a fine purple trickle along the floor confirms Coop was here. The trail stops at a door at the far side of the building. Dane curses. “My fucking sight is gone again.” Beck concurs, and I hate how we keep getting blindsided by this.
“Then I guess we’re doing this the old-fashioned way.” I open the door with my mind, and a gust of wind slaps me in the face. I peer inside. A steep set of stairs descends to the basement. I unlock the weapon at my hip, activating it as my brothers do the same. We share an unspoken agreement, and then we race downstairs, along a badly lit narrow passageway, stopping in front of the only door on this level.
Dane whips the door open, keeping his weapon elevated as he steps inside, with Beck and me flanking him on either side. A multitude of laser rays immediately lock on us, and light floods the room, almost blinding me. I’m blinking profusely, trying to adjust to the bright light when I’m shoved forward from behind. More males pile into the room from the corridor outside, surrounding us on all sides. At least thirty weapons are trained on us now.
We are well and truly screwed.
“It was a fucking trap all along,” I project to my brothers.
“Remain calm and alert and allow me to do the talking.”
Cooper is thrown harshly onto the ground in front of us, and I want to pummel every asshole in sight. He’s still unconscious and oozing blood from a gash to his temple. If the contusions and marks on his body are any indication, they didn’t take him without a considerable fight. Pride and worry wage an internal battle inside me.
A familiar figure steps forward, and I snarl.
“You disappoint me, Dane,” Alandra says, shaking her head.
“I could say the same,” Dane replies. “I thought we had a deal.”
She runs one finger up and down his chest, and he visibly flinches. That does not please the bitch. “Oh, puh-lease. Pull the other one. If you’d truly meant what you said earlier, I would’ve made it happe
n, but I know it was all a ploy. Not that I can fault you for trying.” She playfully slaps both of his cheeks. “But you should never try to outsmart the master.”
In one swift move, she has disarmed all of us. We could’ve put up a fight, but that would’ve been virtual suicide.
She eyes me and Beck like we’re vermin. It’s so hard to look at her face and see Alinthia’s features staring back at me. “I thought you’d be better adversaries. That this would be much more fun, but it was all far too easy.” She tut-tuts. “I honestly don’t know how you were selected to protect the Chosen One. What a terrible job you’ve been doing too. That girl is practically useless. If I had my way—”
“Alandra. Let’s do this,” Jack says, stepping out from the shadows. He grins at us. “I’m bored, and I’m fed up of this stinking planet. I want to go home.”
“Patience, lover.” She grabs his head, plundering his mouth, and we seize the opportunity to talk.
“I can’t see any way out of this,” I say. “There are no other exit points, and we can’t fight them and expect to get out of here alive. Especially not with Coop in the state he’s in.”
“We have no options,” Dane agrees. “We’ll have to go with them and wait for the right opportunity to present itself.”
“What about Alinthia?” Beck says. “She’ll be expecting us to come for her. What’s she going to think when we fail to show up?”
“If you’ve got suggestions, we’re all ears, Beck,” Dane retorts.
Alandra finally tears her lips away from Jack. She pins us with a conceited grin. “I assume you’ve realized you’re fucked, so this is how it’s going to go down. I’m taking you home to meet Daddy, and then we’re going to wait for your darling Alinthia to show up to rescue you.”
“Daddy?” I quirk a brow.
Her look is gleeful as she turns to Jack. “I love the unveiling part, don’t you?” She giggles as her sheath transforms revealing her true self. If it wasn’t for those cold, heartless dark blue eyes, she’d be a stunner. I can see Beck trawling his mind for clues to her identity, but his subtle frown indicates he’s still suffering blank spots in his ability. “Recognize me, sweetheart?” she taunts Beck. She taps one finger off her chin. “Oh, that’s right. You’re a little in the dark right now, aren’t you?” She laughs uncontrollably.
“She’s responsible?” Beck says.
“I wonder if she’s responsible for it all,” Dane replies.
“Who are you?” Dane asks.
She puts her face close to his. “You want to know who you were really kissing earlier?”
Her mouth hovers over his, before Jack yanks her back. “Enough, Alandra.”
She pouts, clearly unaccustomed to being spoken down to. “Watch your tone with me.”
He slaps her butt, completely ignoring her curt tone and snippy warning. “Alandra. Get on with it.”
She returns her attention to us. “Haven’t you figured it out at all yet?”
“If we’d figured it out, we’d hardly be asking,” Dane snaps back.
“How that must frustrate you.” She laughs again, and I’m beginning to see how seriously deranged she is. “You’re not going to be pleased.” Her mouth curls up. “I’m General Arantu’s daughter.”
“Bullshit,” Beck says. “Arantu doesn’t have a daughter.”
“Oh, but he does.” She waggles her brows. “He’s kept me hidden for a reason. Just like he’s pursued Alinthia for a reason.”
“Enlighten us,” Dane says.
“Oh, I don’t think so. A smart adversary doesn’t show all her cards.” She turns into Jack, circling her arms around his neck. “Your turn, darling.”
He grins before dropping his sheath and appearing in his natural form. I growl, Dane curses, and Beck looks ill.
“You fucking traitor,” Dane hisses.
“That’s no way to speak to your handler, Dane,” Zorc says, chuckling.
“You son of a bitch. You set all this in motion.” I grind my teeth to the molars.
He puffs out his chest. “I did, and I’m rather proud of my achievements. It’s been so much fun messing with all your heads.”
“Why? Why would you do this?” Dane asks. “What’s in it for you?”
“I’ve brokered a deal between Jentarr, my master, and General Arantu. A deal which will greatly enhance my career and my standing in the galaxy. And all I had to do was wait until you guys found Alinthia, drive a wedge between you, and then deliver you to him to use as bait. Your capture will reel her in, and then Arantu can prepare her for awakening, and her powers will be his for the taking. It’s quite ingenious, if I do say so myself.”
“You’re lying,” I spit out. “Jentarr and Arantu aren’t allies. You said yourself they fell out when they were cadets.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” he mocks.
Dane barks out a bitter laugh. “There’s just one little problem with your plan. Alinthia will never go along with this.” Not to mention the fact she’s been taken by the humans and, unless Jentarr, Arantu, or Zorc has an in there, which is highly unlikely, getting her out might prove challenging. Perhaps her capture, in the short-term, is a blessing in disguise.
“Oh, but she will,” Alandra adds. “She won’t hesitate when she knows your lives are on the line.”
“She will never agree to Arantu using her powers for evil. Never,” I say.
“She won’t have a choice,” Alandra snaps. “She will obey my father or die.”
TO BE CONTINUED.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling author Siobhan Davis writes emotionally intense young adult and new adult fiction with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She is the author of the international bestselling True Calling, Saven, and Kennedy Boys series.
Siobhan’s family will tell you she’s a little bit obsessive when it comes to reading and writing, and they aren’t wrong. She can rarely be found without her trusty Kindle, a paperback book, or her laptop somewhere close at hand.
Prior to becoming a fulltime writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.
She resides in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.
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BOOKS BY SIOBHAN DAVIS
TRUE CALLING SERIES
Young Adult Science Fiction/Dystopian Romance
True Calling
Lovestruck
Beyond Reach
Light of a Thousand Stars
Destiny Rising
Short Story Collection
True Calling Series Collection
SAVEN SERIES
Young Adult Science Fiction/Paranormal Romance
Saven Deception
The Logan Collection
Saven Disclosure
Saven Denial
Saven Defiance
The Heir and the Human
Saven Deliverance
Saven: The Complete Series
KENNEDY BOYS SERIES
Upper Young Adult/New Adult Contemporary Romance
Finding Kyler
Lo
sing Kyler
Keeping Kyler
The Irish Getaway
Loving Kalvin
Saving Brad
Seducing Kaden
Forgiving Keven^
Adoring Keaton^
Releasing Keanu^
Reforming Kent^
STANDALONES
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Inseparable
Incognito*
ALINTHIA SERIES
Upper YA/NA Paranormal Romance/Reverse Harem
The Lost Savior
The Secret Heir
The Warrior Princess*
* Coming 2018
^ Release date to be confirmed.
Visit www.siobhandavis.com for all future release dates. Please note release dates are subject to change based on reader demand and the author’s schedule. Subscribing to the author’s newsletter or following her on Facebook is the best way to stay updated with planned new releases.
Copyright
Copyright © Siobhan Davis 2018. Siobhan Davis asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.